Hello and welcome to this edition of "In the Spotlight", a show featuring arts, culture and showbiz here in China. I'm your host Jules Page.

On today's show, first of all, we're taking a closer look at an artistic landmark in Beijing, China's National Center for the Performing Arts or NCPA, as it ushers its fifth anniversary last week.

Following that, we'll treat you with a traditional folk art folk prevalent in northern areas of Shaanxi Province, Shanbei Shuoshu.

Last but not least, we'll get up close and personal with a young Chinese cartoonist Xiang Yao, who unfortunately died of cancer this November. But her vigorous and positive attitude moved lots of hearts.

All these and more are coming up. Stay with us.

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This week marks the fifth anniversary of China's National Centre for the Performing Arts (NCPA), which has become the quintessential "artistic" landmark for people in Beijing and the rest of China.

After receiving much acclaim and many awards for its performances, the NCPA is now making efforts to rise to the status of a world-class performing arts center.

Tianyi brings us more.

Reporter:

Outside it's freezing, but inside the main hall of the National Centre for the Performing Arts in downtown Beijing, 500 famous artists from at home and abroad are performing in more than 30 shows, bringing people plenty of warmth and enthusiasm.

Every December, the NCPA holds a Public Open Day to celebrate the anniversary of its opening. This year, the NCPA has gone to great lengths to satisfy audiences.

The NCPA changed the name of its "Public Open Day" to "Public Open Day Arts Festival" to reflect the range of the 39 shows and 20 activities it is hosting, which involve more than 500 artists from over 15 theaters and troupes.

Visitors encounter elegant pianists playing world-famous melodies. They can talk to musicians and even make requests for pieces they want to hear.

Since its inauguration on December 22nd, 2007, the NCPA has attracted more than 8 million visitors.

The NCPA adheres to the principle "for the people, for the arts, for the world."

Chen Ping, President of the NCPA, says he hopes Chinese people can enjoy both classic and modern performances here.

"The NCPA is not only an arts palace, but also a public palace. People are the ones who decide what to present, and artists are the ones who help achieve the goal. I want to thank both the audiences and the artists."

During the past five years, the NCPA has hosted 3,914 performances in total, an average of 800 a year.

Meanwhile, it has put a great deal of effort into the creation and production of 28 plays of various genres of Peking opera, western opera, dramas and dance dramas.

Deng Yijiang, Vice President of the NCPA, says besides artistic creation and production, the center also stresses education and outreach.

"In order to make the NCPA an available arts palace for the public, we adhere to the value of "the arts changes life" and present organized events like weekend concerts and classic arts lectures. Our goal is to benefit and enrich the public's artistic life."

The Chinese are eager for cultural experiences nowadays, especially the performing arts which are the forte of the NCPA.

Although many great musical performances, traditional Chinese operas and dances have been staged here, they still have not been enough to satisfy public demand.

Many hope that in the future the NCPA will hold more public open days instead of only once a year.

Luo Ping is a visitor.

"I do not have much time to go to shows during weekdays, and the tickets for the shows I want to see are usually sold out. I enjoyed today's performances very much. I hope in the future more of these public activities can be held at the NCPA."

Falling ticket prices have also attracted more patrons to the NCPA. The average ticket price has dropped to 314 yuan (45 U.S. dollars) today from 470 yuan (70 U.S. dollars) in 2008. Yet, ticket prices are still a little higher than most people can afford.

Wang Jun is a drama fan. He says sitting inside a beautifully decorated theater and enjoying a wonderful show is very pleasant, especially in winter. But sometimes, the NCPA's high ticket prices prevent him from attending more performances.

"Nowadays, the Chinese no longer spend much on food. Instead, most of us prefer to spend money on the performing arts. If ticket prices were lowered a bit more, I think more people would attend performances at the NCPA."

Wang says the high cost of building the NCPA has made it impossible to buy tickets at very low prices. But his words indicate that the Chinese want to enjoy more performing arts.

As a performing arts center whose goal is to become a world-class venue, the NCPA must present and refine more traditional Chinese and classic shows to create its own brand. It also must consider how it can remain competitive among other performance venues, so more world classics can be staged here for Chinese audiences.

For CRI, I am Tianyi.

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Shan bei Shuoshu is a traditional form of storytelling, originally performed by blind folk artists from North Shaanxi to make a living.

In 2006, the art form was listed as an intangible cultural heritage and is widely popular among locals in Yan'an and Yulin in Shaanxi Province.

Let's follow Xiyuan for a closer look.

Reporter:

Wearing traditional mandarin clothing and black cloth shoes, two storytellers sit on the floor, vividly singing and narrating various stories in a local northern Shaanxi dialect while playing traditional Chinese three-stringed instruments, a sanxian and pipa, as well as a wood clapper.

This is Shanbei Shuoshu, an important folk art prevalent in northern areas of Shaanxi Province. It was first performed by poor blind artists who told various legends and stories by singing to the melodies of northern Shaanxi folk music.

It was later mixed with the tunes of other folk art such as "Meihu," "Qinqiang" and "Daoqing" and gradually developed into a story-telling form of narrating, singing and performing longer stories.

Traditionally, Shanbei Shuoshu is performed by an artist who plays a three-stringed lyre or pipa, singing and narrating stories in the distinct Shanbei dialect.

In the 1930s and 1940s, Shanbei Shuoshu reached its heyday. It was modified by well-known artists such as Han Qixiang and became a story-telling folk art performed by several players to the accompaniment of five instruments including a pipa, a clapper, a play board, a beat-time wood chip or "ma cha cha" and a small gong.

Shanbei Shuoshu is characterized by catchy lyrics, diverse melodies and rough styles with strong local influences. The stories are mainly adapted from folklore, legends and historical novels.

It can be performed for various occasions such as banquets for weddings, funerals and in outdoor venues.

Acclaimed as a "living fossil" of Chinese folk art, Shanbei Shuoshu was among the first things named on China's national intangible heritage protection list in 2006.

The skills have been passed on orally from generation to generation. Fifty four -year-old Bai Furong is one of the blind artists from Xiapo Village of Yanchang County in Yan'an city. He shows the reporter his pipa.

"My pipa has 233 years of history. I'm a fifth generation Shanbei Shuoshu artist. In the past, the art form was only performed by the blind."

Bai lost his sight at the young age of 13. In order to make a living, at 16 he started learning Shanbei Shuoshu from a blind artist in his village.

The 233-year-old pipa has witnessed the succession of the age-old art between generations of artists.

When Bai was young, he often toured to perform. In recent years, with a growing age and in poor health, Bai seldom performs. Talking about the current state of the art of Shanbei Shuoshu, Bai has his worries.

"The art form fared well in the past. But today with better living conditions and the rapid growth of modern entertainment means that fewer people like to learn it."

Bai says currently there are about 2,000 Shanbei Shuoshu artists in the cities of Yan'an and Yulin. It's not a small number. But few can be called masters.

However, the local government is taking series of measures to change that. Since 2004, the city of Yan'an has allocated 500 thousand yuan as a fund for the preservation of cultural folk heritages every year and has implemented a system to designate and subsidize inheritors of intangible cultural heritages. Yan'an University has already set up optional courses on Shanbei Shuoshu and shows take place in Yan'an's theaters regularly.

Meanwhile, new generations of Shanbei Shuoshu artists are also taking the lively art form to the national stage. What you're listening to now is the Shanbei Shuoshu performance by a young talented artist Cao Boyan on CCTV's famous talent show "Star Boulevard."

With its artistic charm and with the help of the government and efforts of folk artists, Shanbei Shuoshu is sure to be appreciated and loved by more people.

For CRI, this is Xiyuan.

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A comic titled "Get out, Mr. Tumour" recently became popular thanks to the optimism of its author ¨C Xiang Yao, who recorded her fight against lymph cancer.

On the 16th of this November, Xiang finally lost her last battle and passed away, to the great sorrow of her fans.

On today's program, let's pay a tribute to the optimistic young woman, who, despite her suffering, brought laughter and happiness to us. For more about Xiang Yao's story, here is Shen Ting.

Reporter:

She loved make-up, beautiful dresses and high-heels. She laughed easily and was a huge fan of Michael Jackson. You might easily describe this young woman with dozens of delightful words except 'cancer patient.'

"I always forget I'm a patient."

That was Xiang Yao, better known by her pen name Xiong Dun. In Chinese, "Xiong" means bear, which was her favorite animal, and "Dun" comes from the scientist Isaac Newton.

Xiong Dun was born in 1982 in the beautiful southern city of Lishui in East China's Zhejiang Province. She moved to Beijing a few years ago. As a diehard fan of Michael Jackson, Xiong Dun thought there might be more fellow fans and concerts in a big city like Beijing. So she left home and started her drifting life in China's capital without any hesitation.

Before being diagnosed with cancer, Xiong Dun led a simple but happy life as a freelance cartoonist. She had six books published ¨C all telling stories of the lives and secrets of young girls.

However, it was her last work "Get out, Mr. Tumor" that gave her national fame. In the book, Xiong Dun told her story of fighting the disease in a witty tone.

She drew herself as a cute little bald girl with a pair of cartoon bear ears. All the stories were from her real life and her family, friends and doctors were all included.

She started her story like this:

"August 21, 2011, I was ill, foaming at the mouth, twitching, and totally unconscious. What's worse, I was completely naked. My roommate and girlfriend Amy was frightened to death. At that moment, I had only one thought ¨C that sleeping in the nude was surely not a good idea."

With this light-hearted and humorous tone, Xiong Dun illustrated her battle against the tumor. In her last TV interview, she talked about how her family got to know more about her illness. It sounded like she was telling an interesting story of someone else.

"At the very beginning, I didn't want my parents to know that I was ill. But my friend Jasmine called them secretly. It was really funny. My father answered the phone call while he was playing mahjong and when my friend said that your daughter was ill, my father hung up at once. He thought it must be a hoax."

Xiong Dun was the kind of person who could always bring laughter to others both in her real life and her illustrated books. Even when her parents flew to Beijing to see her in the hospital, the first thing she asked her mom was "Do I look thinner?". There was no sad scene as one mightĦĦimagine.

Like other young women, Xiong Dun pursued beautiful things ¨C dresses, make-up and handsome boys, as well as a slim figure. She described weight-loss as her life-long cause and once drew and described her dieting experiences in a book called "Slimming Chivalry." Even in the hospital, she didn't forget about losing weight.

"Although I draw myself as a slim little girl in the book, in real life I was actually very strong. I've made every effort to lose weight. However, I had to eat like a pig in the hospital. No way, I have to continue my slimming cause. I'll do it! I'll do it! ErĦ­forget about it. I will allow myself to fatten up by 2 or 3 kilos in the hospital."

Drawing was a unique medicine for Xiong Dun. She used it to kill time in the hospital and she thought it could give her strength. She initially posted the comic series on her Weibo account, the Chinese version of Twitter.

Within a few days, her posts got more than 2 million hits. In August "Get out, Mr. Tumor" was published and many people were touched by her positive attitude towards life, especially many cancer patients.

As a reader said, "I nearly forgot she was facing death and I don't know whether it was the comfort we gave her more of the courage she brought to us, or vise versa."

For all the suffering she endured in her 15-month long fight with Mr. Tumor, Xiong Dun only cried once.

"That was a few days before my birthday, when I saw the medical report showing that my disease was deteriorating badly. Suddenly, I thought I'd been suffering for such a long time why it was getting worse? I didn't know when these days would end and when I would be healthy again. Whether that would even happen or not?"

"My father was with me in the hospital. And that made me more fragile. I cried outright. But that didn't last long. My father hugged me and comforted me by drawing a beautiful blueprint for the future, such as take me traveling. And I got over my bad mood soon and continued with my treatment."

Maybe the only good thing that Mr. Tumor did for Xiong Dun was to reunite her with her family. However, the fact was still too cruel to the mother.

"She is tougher than me. I think when she is alone she has great pain deep inside. But she never shows it in front of us. She'll let a bad temper or mood blow over and won't stay like that for long. When I was sad, she would comfort me and ask me to be strong. But sometimes, I just can't help but cry."

"Get out, Mr. Tumor" was a brave wish, however, the optimistic girl finally lost the struggle.

On November 16, 2012, Xiong Dun's friend posted the last line on the girl's Weibo page, "Xiang Yao, our dearest Xiong Dun left us today at 5:25 pm. Thank you for all of your love and support. May she be as happy as usual and rest in peace."

The 30-year-old never lost her hope and faith in life even at her last moment. She loved laugh. She listened to Michael Jackson everyday. Her favorite TV soap-opera was "Modern Family." And her one and only wish was to marry a good man and have a pair of children. And now she has brought all of those passions and wishes to heaven.

Xiong Dun will always be in the hearts of those who loved her and those who were inspired and encouraged by her.

For CRI, I'm Shen Ting.

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With the story of this inspiring young lady, we conclude this edition of "In the Spotlight".

For comments or suggestions, you can email us at Spotlight@cri.com.cn. You can also log on to our website at www.cribeyondbeijing.com to learn more about today's topics or catch up on any of our previous editions. I'm Jules Page. Thanks for listening, and we'll see you next time.

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